Intel has posted the quad-core QX9775 on its price list, indicating the top-of-the-line chip used in the Skulltrail motherboard is available in volume.

Intel QX9775 Extreme processor
Intel Corp.

The Skulltrail motherboard was announced in mid-February but the QX9775 processor was initially very scarce. Intel has now listed (PDF) the processor at $1,499. The 45-nanometer part runs at 3.2GHz, packs 12MB of cache, and uses a 1600MHz bus.

Skulltrail is a very high-end enthusiast gaming platform based on the company's 5400 "Seaburg" workstation chipset. Skulltrail distinguishes itself with a dual CPU socket design that uses eight processing cores (two QX9775 chips) and support for the Scalable Link Interface (SLI). The system can be maxed out with two dual-GPU graphics cards from NVIDIA (such as the GeForce 9800 GX2) or up to four AMD graphics cards using ATI CrossFireX technology.

The motherboard accomplishes all this with dual 1600MHz front side-buses--connected to the dual Xeon sockets--and four full PCIe x16 slots.

The board is available from resellers such as PC Connection which also lists the QX9775 at a whopping $1,809. Most retailers list the processor for between $1,600 and $1,700.

About the author

Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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